Disease
by Mystic8668
Summary: Summary: Maria Deluca came back to Roswell, after get freedom from her Father's custody. She came back with a secret, that nobody but her Mom, Dad, and Liz knows about. Can Michael and Maria find each other before it's too late?


Disease  
  
Summary: Maria Deluca came back to Roswell, after get freedom from her Father's custody. She came back with a secret, that nobody but her Mom, Dad, and Liz knows about.  
  
Author's Notes: This story takes place at the beginning of Season Three, so Alex is dead and Tess is gone. Maria left before Max saved Liz so she never found out about the alien's secret. Sort of like a Walk To Remember, Roswell style of course.  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell or anything to do with Roswell sadly except the stories I write based on it.  
  
Maria DeLuca had left Roswell the day before Max Evans saved Liz Parker's life. The day before all of their lives were changed. The day before Liz had found out that Max, Michael, and Isabel were all aliens. Maybe if she waited one more day to leave she would have been able to find another better reason to stay.  
  
Her father had suddenly came back to Roswell meaning to take Maria back to his home with him. For years she hadn't seen or heard from him everyday wishing he was dead, but she had to go he had a court order. He was a poweful attorney that always got his way. So a week later she had to leave her home her true family and friends and everything she knew, but now she was back. She had proven to the courts that she could make her own decisions so she was able to go back where she had wanted to be all along since she got emancipated, but there was one thing that the judge didn't know.  
  
Michael Guerin remembered the day she had left. She came to the Crashdown to say good-bye to everyone was there. Liz, Alex, Max, Kyle, and Isabel all had said their good-byes but Michael trying to keep his stone wall up stared straight in front of him as she passed by his booth looking at him one last time. He wanted so badly to get up and tell her loved her ever since the first day of school when he had seen her and bouncing blonde curls. Now the only words they would ever say to each other is what Michael wanted to order and that she would be right back.  
  
Maria paid the taxi driver and walked up the steps to her home the one with her mother. She would stay with her mom even though she was seen as an adult in the court's eyes. She dragged all her luggage with her. All of her items were being sent to Roswell from Texas where she'd been living with her father sometime that week. She raised her hand and debated if she was doing the right thing to come back after all. Would her mother Amy still love her? Of course she will she's my mother she thought. She moved her hand forward and gently tapped on the door. Amy opened the door and all of Maria's doubts disappeared.  
  
"Hi mom..." Maria said barely audible.  
  
"My baby." Amy said wrapping her arms around her.  
  
"You feeling ok?" Amy asked her as they walked into the kitchen sitting down to talk.  
  
"Yeah Mom I'm fine."  
  
They talked for about three hours until Amy told her to go see her friends. They must be at the Crashdown Maria that as she left.  
  
She opened the doors to the restaurant and walked in. She saw Liz taking a couple's order, and then Liz turned and looked at the door to see who had come in.  
  
"Oh my gawd Maria!" Liz said her eyes wide running over to her best friend dropping her order pad and pen at the couple's table.  
  
"You're back!? Are you visiting your Mom? She didn't say you were coming it doesn't matter though you're back!" She said happily flinging her arms around her best friend, "It's been crazy here since you left."  
  
"Well I'm back now, for good." Maria said accepting her friend's hug warmly with a smile.  
  
"We have to talk! I'm getting off work in about five minutes so we can talk then, I'm so happy you're back!" Liz said happily walking back to the customers.  
  
Maria looked around the Crashdown. It hadn't changed much at all, except it looked like there was a bullethole in the wall, 'Weird.' Maria thought. She sat down at an empty booth by the entrance and waited for Liz. As she waited Max, Isabel, and Michael walked in. She looked up at Michael, he looked different than the last time she'd seen him. Now his hair was longer and no longer spiked up anymore. It wavily framed his face. There's another thing I missed about this place she thought to herself. Max looked at her double-taked and kept walking. They got to their booth.  
  
"What's Maria doing back here?" He asked them in a worried voice.  
  
"She's back?" Michael said a little too excitedly, than shaking it off trying to make them think he didn't care.  
  
"We have to be extra careful, she's supposed to be with her Dad, her Dad's a lawyer so he's connected to the government. Maybe they sent her to get information on us." Isabel said peeking over the top of the booth to see Maria who was messing with her bracelet looking up to see if Liz was coming.  
  
"Why do you think she's here to do something to us? Maybe she's just here to be with her Mom." Michael said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Why are you so keen on thinking she's not?" Isabel said angrily.  
  
Liz started walking to Maria's table without uniform. Max waved her over.  
  
"Hey." She said to them.  
  
"Liz, I know Maria was your best friend..." Max said being cut off.  
  
"Is my best friend."  
  
"Yeah, anyways be careful what you say to her."  
  
"Do you think I was planning on telling her all about you guys?" Liz said irritated.  
  
"No, it's just..."  
  
"Whatever Max I understand." She said strolling over to Maria, "Hey again." She said sliding into the opposite side of the booth with Maria.  
  
They talked until closing, about everything but the aliens secret. She told Maria about her and Max's relationship, stopping as Maria asked her about dumping Kyle. Than, continuing on to Tess and that her and Max stopped seeing each other because of Tess. Maria stopped Liz again to ask her if she was still around and Liz said no. They talked about Alex and how much they missed him since he was gone. At closing the aliens and Maria all headed home.  
  
Maria and Michael ended up last leaving since Michael had knocked over the sugar dispenser as they were leaving. He grabbed a paper towel from behind the counter and began to clean it up.  
  
"Need any help?" Maria asked as she turned around noticing he made a mess.  
  
"No." He grunted back, looking up then realising who it was, "I got it."  
  
"Ok then bye." She said walking out.  
  
He waited for her to be outside and he waved his hand over the broken glass and sugar, it was completely normal and he walked out to his motorcycle, Maria was walking down the sidewalk.  
  
"You want a ride?" He called to her.  
  
"What? Oh um sure."  
  
"Here." He handed her his other helmet, "Hold onto my back." he got on and she followed suit wrapping her arms around his back. Breathing in his scent.  
  
"What do I need a shower or something?" He said sarcastically, there he was riding his bike with the girl he loved. He just didn't know she felt the same way, too.  
  
She laughed, his heart fluttered, "Oh no, do you know where I live?" She asked him.  
  
"Yeah." He responded, how could he forget. The day she left he walked past it so many times, seeing if she really did leave, but he couldn't ever tell her how he felt, he was an alien she was a human. Things like that never work. Liz and Max worked for a while than Tess came and messed everything up, Isabel and Alex worked after Isabel realised her feelings for him, but then he died. So the way he saw it either someone would come and mess it up and or Maria would die. He wouldn't let her die. Anyways nobody else could be let in on their secret, Max had said. At that moment he felt like he would burst if he didn't tell her.  
  
Then after a pleasant silence he turned into her driveway. She was home, "Do you want me to walk you to your door or something?" He said hopefully.  
  
"Why do you think the aliens are going to come and beam me up or something?" She said sarcastically.  
  
"Something like that. Besides there's a bunch of farmer psychos around here you can never be too careful." He said with a smile. She loved his smile she thought.  
  
"Well than in that case."  
  
They walked up the steps and they were at her door. She turned and smiled at him, "Thanks so much." She said laughing. He didn't say anything he just looked right back into her eyes. She did the same. Before they could do as much as breathe there lips were locked, something they'd wanted for too long. The visions flooded between them. Of encounters with each other and their feelings. The way they felt about each other. Michael blowing up rocks as Tess taught him to tap into his powers. The visions went from recent to the past. Michael coming out of the Pod, Maria's father leaving and her tying her red shoes. Michael watching from the rock Max and Isabel walking. Than a more recent one appeared, Maria at the doctor's. Maria broke their kiss  
  
"I....I can't." She said shakingly putting her key into the lock and hastily closing the door. Leaving Michael standing on the steps cursing at himself. Now she knows he thought. Max isn't going to be that happy, he thought as he rode away on his motorcycle.  
  
She ran to her room with butterflies in her stomach, her mind racing. I kissed him, how could I be so stupid. She didn't know what those visions were, she didn't care. He saw her at the doctor's He didn't hear what the doctor had said. I have to tell him she thought. I have to tell him that we can't be together because I am going to die. She'd come to terms with the inevitable last summer. When she found out that she had an undiagnosable illness that was killing her slowly. She only had a few months left.  
  
She walked over to her mirror and picked up her brushes, stroking it through her hair. A clump of her golden hair came out into the brush and she threw it across the room. She gazed at herself in the mirror. She didn't look like herself anymore she thought. Her eyes weren't as happy and careful as they used to be. Her face was pale and a bit sunk in. "I can't have something making me want to live." She whispered as the tears escaped her eyes. She flopped down on her bed breathing heavily and wiping her eyes. Good thing her Mom wasn't home, she was out with Jim Valenti, she would be asking questions. She leaned over and lifted thre phone out of it's holding dialing Liz's number.  
  
"Hello?" Liz answered.  
  
"Hey Liz." She said sniffing and wiping her eye once more.  
  
"Maria what happened, are you ok?"  
  
"I kissed him Liz..." She said regaining her composure.  
  
"Kissed who?" Liz asked her, she knew before Maria left that she had always liked Michael, but it never came to mind.  
  
"Michael...and I saw things from him and he saw things from me. I know I can't get involved with someone it would just be a let down. He saw me at the doctor's he doesn't know I'm dying. Please, tell me what to do."  
  
"You...you have to tell him." Maria must have seen the aliens come out of the pods, too. Him using his powers also things like that Liz thought.  
  
"In the visions that you saw could Michael do things, with his hands?"  
  
"He...um he, Max, and Isabel, they were really young coming out of these pod-like things covered in some sort of ectoplasm, and him...him blowing things up." She was just realising what she had seen, "What are they?"  
  
Liz knew she would ask that question. Maria was her best friend, Alex had known he'd kept it a secret, he would have wanted maria to know. Liz told her everything they knew. Maria was blown away. Living in Roswell she was used to hearing stories about aliens but she always just thought they were good for the economy or something, but to know they were real. It sounded crazy, but she believed all of it.  
  
"Liz, I've got to get off this phone, now that I've got some new things to think about."  
  
"Alright, but please don't tell anyone, I'll talk to you later then. I doubt you've taken you're medicine tonight either so take that and get some rest. Your head will be clearer."  
  
"Yeah, bye." Maria snorted as she hung up the phone. The medicine doesn't help, probably just speeds it along. She shut off her light and closed her eyes. She resolved that the next morning she would find out where Michael lives and talk to him, about everything. That night she dreamed of being buried alive.  
  
Maria woke up from the water that was coming in through the window. She had forgotten to close it that previous night. It was raining, pouring down rain. She rose from her bed and went to the window shutting it.  
  
"Good morning Mom." She said as she slowly walked into the kitchen were Amy was sitting drinking coffee and reading the paper.  
  
"Hey how was your night?" She asked as Maria shoved some bread into the toaster.  
  
"Alright. I talked to Liz and...."  
  
"And?" Amy asked her putting the paper down and eyeing her suspiciously.  
  
"Michael." She said softly.  
  
"That boy you liked from a couple years ago? Michael Guerin? He was so nice after you left. Came over helped around the house. I was having a bit of a hard time you know."  
  
Maria looked at her oddly. She never knew Michael had helped her mother out. The toast popped out of the toaster and she began to eat.  
  
"Yeah him." She managed to say between bites.  
  
"Oooh I see." Amy said lifting the paper back up, "So you guys friends now or something?"  
  
"You could say that." She said looking out the window, "Looks like it's going to be a bad day." She said shoving the last bit into her mouth and wiping her hands.  
  
"Yeah, the paper says it's supposed to be like this all day."  
  
"Well I'm going over to Liz's."  
  
"Did you take your vitamins and medications?" Amy asked her once more looking up from the paper.  
  
"I will right now." She got down all the different bottles from the cupboard and took out the pills. Twelve in total, all the ones that her doctor could possibly think of that could slow down the illness, none of which were working the voice in the back of her head told her.  
  
"Do you want a ride?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Amy dropped Maria off and she sprinted inside the diner, "Liz!" She called out to her friend as she took the hood off of her head shaking off the water. It didn't look like the rain was going to let up.  
  
"Hey 'Ria. How're you you know with everything today?" She asked her quietly.  
  
"I've come to terms and I'm cool with it." She said half-heartedly.  
  
"Good, I'm glad." Liz said with a grin.  
  
"Well the reason I'm here so early is I was wondering if you could tell me where Michael lives. I really need to talk to him." Max sitting at a nearby booth looked over and watched her cautiously.  
  
Liz told her and she headed over to his apartment in the rain, watching her feet as she walked. Finally she made it and tapped on his door.  
  
Michael was inside sleeping on the couch. He didn't hear her. She looked over in through his window and saw him. She knocked louder and he woke up. He rubbed his eyes and slid off the couch and made his way to the door. He looked through the peep hole to see a soaking wet Maria and opened it.  
  
"Maria? Come in, you're soaked." He said motioning for her to do so.  
  
"I need to talk to you."  
  
"I'm an alien." He said quickly looking down.  
  
"I know, I talked to Liz she explained. I don't really care...that's not why I'm here." She said glumly.  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
"Michael, I'm sick. I'm really sick." She said starting to talk.  
  
"Well if you're sick you should go home and rest and not be out wandering around in the rain."  
  
"No, I don't have the flu or anything. I'm dying. The doctors, the doctors don't know what's wrong. I don't have much time left. I came back to spend time with my Mom before I would be gone. I never thought my feelings for you would come back."  
  
"You're....you're joking." He said his mind racing, it stopping on Max.  
  
"No I wish I was...." She said her eyes fluttering back than collapsing.  
  
"Maria! Oh my gawd." Michael yelled running over to her picking her up, holding her in his arms. She was barely breathing. Max had followed her in case she tried to do anything to Michael and he was outside in his car.  
  
Michael put the hood back on her head and made the door fly open with his powers. He was crying and it was raining. His hair stuck to his face and he looked around hoping Max was on his way back. He was already there. Max jumped out of his car and ran over to them.  
  
"Michael, what happened?"  
  
"You have to save her, Max. I love her, I love her so much."  
  
"We'll take her to the hospital no one else can know about us." He said looking down at Maria's helpless form.  
  
"She already knows Maxwell, so what's the difference?" Max stared at his awestruck, "Fine take her inside so people can't see."  
  
Michael carried her into the house and set her on the couch and moved out of the way. Max grabbed her hand, "Maria...look at me." She moaned slightly.  
  
"She's still alive, I can make the connection." Max said putting his other hand on her trying to find the problem. Michael sat next to Max watching helplessly. Max found it, it was in her brain, it was a virus in her brain he could fix it. Odd for a virus to be in one's brain not the blood stream. He made the connection. He saw her life, including Maria and Michael. He knew that she wasn't a threat.  
  
The color came back to her cheeks and she sat straight up breathing heavily, "Max? You saved me...thanks. Where's Michael?" She said her vision coming back now.  
  
"I'm right here." He said wrapping his arms around her as if he would never let go.  
  
"I love you Maria DeLuca."  
  
"I love you too Michael Guerin." She said sighing. She was going to live. The group of humans and aliens was now the way it should have been from the beginning, complete. 


End file.
